String of Lawn Mower Thefts in Hawthorne

Published July 16th, 2014

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Hawthorne, FL -- A bunch of lawn mowers have gone missing in one corner of North Central Florida, and that has some officials worried.

Alachua County Sheriffs Office Detectives said it's not the first time the city's seen this unusual crime - five years ago the same problem popped up. No one was caught back then, but since January, 22 mowers of all kinds and eight trailers have been reported stolen at various residences and businesses around Hawthorne.

All together, the stolen items total about $30,000.

Officials said residents should always secure their property to keep their items from being stolen. "A lot of people are leaving their items unsecured and making it very easy for the suspect to just come in and snatch their items so if they could just lock it up and secure their yard, hopefully we could see a decrease in that," according to ASO Detective Eric Hutchinson.

The investigation is still ongoing, but Hutchinson said the same people or person may be connected to all the crimes.